While the position is good for getting a stab into the hole, it's awful for protecting himself when his usual method of survival is "just don't get hit" and there's nowhere to go.

He barely manages to get the iron in his good hand before her arm slams into his back and he screams. A jerky shudder rides through his body as wooden bones are snapped and his flesh is bruised by the impact.

He gasps for air, his focus slipping to autopilot as he thinks over about stabbing iron into the hole, struggling to push his arm through.